


weight

by stuttervoice



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M, au where they're both orphans on the streets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 22:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10603488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuttervoice/pseuds/stuttervoice
Summary: This world is cruel, and nothing will change that.But Akashi has Kuroko, and Kuroko has Akashi, and that is enough.





	

**Author's Note:**

> y'all ever heard of weight of the world? no? all 3 versions of the song are beautiful
> 
> happy akakuro week! im dying, gotta get back to celestials and all that....stares into the distance

The days disappear in a blink of an eye, and the nights freeze you to the core as it wears on endlessly; the darkness is chased away by the lights as the lights chase away the stars in a never-ending cycle; the winds bite your skin with wolves’ teeth, and the cold ground seeps into your skin like poison. Everything about winter is harsh, but it has a cold beauty to it.

…so says Seijuurou’s companion, and he laughs at him for it, nose buried in sky blue locks. Kuroko’s expression never changes these days, and Seijuurou hates it, especially at times like this when Kuroko would have normally cast him a glare for his ridicule.

But Kuroko just closes his eyes, huddling against Seijuurou for warmth.

Seijuurou swallows the lump in his throat, shivering and wrapping the thin blanket tighter around them. Kuroko is lying against his chest, wrapped in a tattered coat, and Seijuurou is wearing a coat big enough for both of them, so that covers him as well.

But Kuroko’s still trembling, lips blue as the withered bluebells.

“I hate winter,” Seijuurou murmurs. The words go unheard by Kuroko, already in an uneasy, restless sleep. It may not even be sleep—maybe he’s finally collapsed from exhaustion. Seijuurou touches Kuroko’s forehead; it’s the only warm thing on Kuroko’s body. Seijuurou clicks his tongue quietly, but all he can do is hold Kuroko tighter.

Kuroko, who has the weaker body and the weaker immune system, who suffers every winter, who has almost died countless times by now.

Seijuurou sighs, his breath coming out in white puffs. He has nothing. He can do nothing. All he can do is hold Kuroko and hope that he’s still alive in the morning, hope that he can somehow scrounge up some medicine for him, hope that this isn’t the last time he holds him.

Huddled by the frozen waters of the river, Seijuurou stays awake and watches over his companion until the endless night is over, and the sun rises.

Kuroko does not.

* * *

 

Seijuurou could spend hours telling you how the world isn’t fair, but everyone knows that, and no one needs to hear it again. When you’re young and you have nothing, you adapt quickly, and when you’re older and still have nothing, you curse the world. That’s all. So he takes an abandoned coat, steals medicine from a drug store, and digs food out of the trash to eat, all while ignoring anyone looking at him and his filthy clothes.

Kuroko is still asleep when Seijuurou arrives at their makeshift camp by the river. His breathing is shallow, and he’s still burning up. Seijuurou wraps him in the new coat and then shakes him gently. It takes a worrying amount of time to wake the sleeping boy, but he does, eventually.

“Aka…” He can’t even finish calling his name as he breaks into a fit of hacking coughs. Seijuurou rubs his back gently, offering him some clean water.

“Drink slowly,” Seijuurou warns, monitoring how fast and how much Kuroko drinks. Once it seems he’s had enough, Seijuurou caps the water bottle and offers him the food he scrounged. “Here, I know you might not be hungry, but you have to eat so you can take your medicine.”

Kuroko seems discouraged, but he reluctantly eats a few pieces of the bread. As Seijuurou is taking the medicine out of his pocket, Kuroko speaks up. His voice is so soft and weak that Seijuurou winces, and what he says does not make it better. “Did you steal again?” He asks. There is no inflection in his voice, but when Seijuurou looks up at him and sees his blank blue eyes, he knows that he’s disappointed in him, even though he doesn’t show it.

Seijuurou sighs heavily, shaking a pill out of the bottle. “I had to. You’ll die if you don’t get better,” he points out, taking the cap off the water bottle. Kuroko just stares at Seijuurou’s hands when he holds the items out. Seijuurou glares at Kuroko. “Kuroko.”

Slowly, Kuroko takes the pill, putting it into his mouth. Seijuurou gives him the water bottle. After Kuroko swallows, Seijuurou sighs again, giving him a look. Kuroko opens his mouth, and Seijuurou checks to make sure he took the pill. Once satisfied, he backs away, deciding to eat the parts of the bread that Kuroko didn’t eat. Kuroko watches him silently, the occasional tremor shaking his whole body.

“I’m sorry,” Kuroko apologizes, quietly. Seijuurou doesn’t respond right away.

He’ll never understand why Kuroko always apologizes to him when he should already know that Seijuurou will do anything for him, and he will never regret any of it.

Seijuurou opens his arms instead. “Come here,” he says, smiling warmly. Kuroko crawls the short way over, wrapping his arms around Seijuurou’s neck and his legs around Seijuurou’s waist. Seijuurou chuckles softly at the koala-like position he’s latched onto him with, and he hugs him in return, resting his chin on top of his head.

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Seijuurou gazes at the horizon, eyes faraway. He remembers when he first met Kuroko, and the smaller boy was covered in injuries and scars, and he was scared of everything, including Seijuurou. He tilts his head downward, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“You never did anything wrong.”

* * *

 

This world is cruel, and the future is uncertain. There are no constants in Seijuurou’s life except for Kuroko, and that is only one of the reasons why he will never leave the other’s side. The other reasons are…well. He doesn’t think about them very often.

They never wonder what would have happened had they not ended up on the streets, for wondering will only bring heartache. It is better to face the murky future than get lost in the past.

But Kuroko can’t escape his past sometimes.

On nights when Kuroko starts crying in his sleep, Seijuurou will always try to wake him up and free him from his nightmares. Kuroko never wakes up immediately, so Seijuurou has stopped expecting that. But he always tries, even if it’s in vain.

But when Kuroko screams, Seijuurou knows something is wrong.

“Kuroko!” He shakes the boy’s arm, trying to wake him up. Kuroko shies away from him, whimpering in his sleep. Seijuurou stamps down the welling panic in his chest, and he quickly grabs the other boy, wrapping his arms around him. Kuroko struggles to get away, but Seijuurou doesn’t let him go. “Kuroko, listen to me! It’s me, Seijuurou; I’m not going to hurt you. You’re having a nightmare, okay? You need to wake up,” Seijuurou urges, raising his voice over Kuroko’s cries. He has to quickly pull his head back to avoid being headbutted by Kuroko. He always tries not to think about how violent Kuroko is when he’s being restrained unwittingly, tries not to remember how bloody his hands were after convincing Kuroko to let him treat his wounds.

Seijuurou feels a tear fall from his eyes as he presses his forehead against Kuroko’s stomach. “I’m sorry for what you had to go through, but it’s all over now. Please wake up, Tetsuya,” he whispers, closing his eyes. If he could, he would erase Kuroko’s past, but no matter how much he tries, he knows he will never be able to. 

The air quiets.

“…Akashi-kun?” Kuroko asks, voice small. Seijuurou’s eyes fly open, and he’s up in a flash, staring down at Kuroko. Kuroko is staring back at him, tears still falling down his face, and when he sees Seijuurou’s face, he starts crying harder. Seijuurou can’t describe his expression. It’s a mixture of relief, lingering pain, and another emotion that Seijuurou can’t put his finger on.

He ignores it for now.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Seijuurou breathes, hanging his head in relief. Tears of his own fall to the ground, made out of a mixture of fear and sadness for Kuroko. Seijuurou cups Kuroko’s cheek in his hand, smiling weakly as he wipes away the other boy’s tears. As he leans down the kiss his forehead, he whispers, “Welcome back.”

Kuroko’s hands grab ahold of Seijuurou’s shirt, fingers trembling.

“Thank you.”

Seijuurou lies down beside Kuroko, pulling him into his body, and they don’t move for the rest of the night.

* * *

 

A month later, in a new city and with a new start, Seijuurou leans in and kisses Tetsuya, chapped lips against chapped lips. Tetsuya is unresponsive for a long moment, but when Seijuurou is about to reluctantly pull away, Tetsuya pulls him back, wrapping his arms around his neck and smiling gently into the kiss.

When they break apart, Tetsuya frowns playfully, eyes twinkling with happiness. “You were supposed to do that years ago,” he reprimands, relaxing into the old couch they found on the side of the road. Seijuurou chuckles, leaning his forehead against Tetsuya’s.

“Maybe you should have told me that,” he points out, smirk pulling at his lips. Tetsuya laughs quietly, closing his eyes and leaning into Seijuurou. Seijuurou feels his heart swell with love and affection for the other boy as he closes his eyes as well, enjoying the moment.

On a couch in the middle of nowhere, they have no home, and no recollection of home. But home is not always a place, and for them, their home is obvious. Seijuurou reaches out for Tetsuya’s hand, and when Tetsuya feels his hand wandering around, he presses his palm against his, slowly intertwining their fingers together. Seijuurou smiles. 

Seijuurou was lucky that he didn’t run into anyone dangerous when he was first thrown onto the streets; Tetsuya was not. But they still met each other, and they are still together, even if they bear different scars from different times.

This world may be cruel…

…but it is still kind.

Tetsuya told him that once, and he didn’t believe him.

He’ll concede.

**Author's Note:**

> i have nothing to say for once tbh
> 
> berserkers are scary tho


End file.
